SRI LANKA’S DEFENSE MINISTER MARAPONE CONTRADICTS AMERICAN AMBASSADOR AND SAYS THERE ARE NO LTTE BREACHES OF THE MOU

From Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles

Sri Lanka’s Defense Minister Thilak Marapone contradicted Colombo’s US Ambassador Ashley Willis, United Nation’s Children’s Fund UNICEF, the BBC online News Service, the Tamil human rights group, Tamil Rights, organization of Tamil academics like UTHRJ and the government’s own coalition partner the Muslim Congress and said there was no evidence that the terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was doing any thing in breach of the MOU signed between his leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The Defense Minister called the allegations against the terrorist group as unconfirmed gossip and said there was no definitive evidence that the terrorist group was actually committing the offense in an interview broadcast live by the Sandeshaya, the Sinhalese service of the BBC.

Few hours before Marapone’s contradiction, a statement issued by the US ambassador in Colombo said, ""We have credible reports that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are engaged in activities that could jeopardize the recent indefinite ceasefire accord. In the current international context in which terrorism is being condemned in more and more countries, the LTTE should be especially vigilant about observing the terms of the ceasefire accord. If it does not, it will only increase its international isolation."

In an apparent attempt of whitewashing the terrorist group, Sri Lanka’s Defense Minister who is also a former Attorney General of the country said, "Before the MOU there were allegations that the LTTE was extorting money but afterwards there were no complaints."

Critics said Marapone was lying since the existence of the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe depended on the support of the Tamil Tigers and its proxy group the TNA. If he were not lying his military intelligence would have broken down entirely. In either case, he must immediately resign, they demanded. Most of the reports about the situation do not appear in the media since the Ranil Wickremesinghe government has successfully brought pressure on the owners of newspapers and broadcasting stations not to publish unapproved news. The latest victims of the government’s censure program was Rathu Ira, a talk show conducted by a private television station in which controversial topics were discussed by opposing party.

Few days before Marapone’s contradiction a coalition partner of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government told New Delhi’s Times of India that the LTTE continued to harass and extort from Muslims in the East of the country despite the MOU.

Rauf Hakeem, the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) speaking to Times of India’s Farah Mihlar Ahamaed said Muslim Congress had tried to negotiate certain clauses to be added in the MOU that would protect the interests of the Muslims but was unable to reach a compromise on the issue.

Contradicting his own cabinet colleague Marapone Hakeem said there had been a slight de-escalation of harassment of Muslims in the East but reports continued to trickle in after the permanent cease fire installed by the MOU signed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The report said there had been many incidents of extortions, kidnapping and stealing of vehicles from Muslims. The report was published on March 10, 2002.

On February 5 the President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga, expressed deep concern about UNICEF reports of forcible child conscription and stated that the peace process could succeed only if human rights in general and children’s rights in particular were safeguarded.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and its spokesman Anton Balasingham, whose wife Adele, instrumental in starting a women’s brigade mostly consisted of under age girls denied the allegations like Marapone.

Francis Harrison of the BBC reported, " There has been much alarm about reports that Tamil Tiger rebels have been taking advantage of the lull in the fighting to come into villages in the Eastern District of Batticaloa to try to take away teenagers many of whose families had fled rebel territory in order to avoid conscription. Meanwhile there are some reports from Northern Sri Lanka of rebel cadre in Mannar district demanding both money and children for the war effort from civilians in government areas. In the North it is not clear whether these reports represent a marked increase in rebel activity. But in the East of Sri Lanka local people say the degree of harassment had shot up since the ceasefire came into effect."

The Movement for Alternative Tamil opinion and Democracy reported that in the Batticaloa District the LTTE has rounded up certain villages and has forcibly taken away a number of children for arms training. "The LTTE has taken letters of consent from parents to the effect that they would hand over their children who are now below eight years when they reach the age of arms training," it said

World human rights leaders, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Britain’s Lord Eric Avebury, Dr.Arun Gandhi, Dr. Ursula M. Franklin and 124 others signed a petition urging the main peace players, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lanka government to protect human rights of the people living in the North and the East in the peace process